In the coming years, John Dempsey Hospital
will need to be rebuilt or renovated to keep the University of Connecticut
Health Center financially viable, UConn officials have concluded.

"For the sake of the state's medical
school and biomedical research, doing nothing is just not an option,"
said Steven Strongwater, associate dean for clinical affairs at
the health center in Farmington.

But any major expansion at the suburban
hospital, which helps fund other health center functions, will inevitably
hurt St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Hartford Hospital,
which have primary responsibility to care for the region's poor,
officials at the urban hospitals said.

"We don't have any details, but
a significant expansion would be a significant financial hit to
St. Francis and all hospitals in the region," said Christopher
Dadlez, president and chief executive officer of St. Francis Hospital.

An uneasy truce between the Hartford
area's three highly competitive hospitals has been threatened in
recent weeks by the circulation of a UConn Health Center document
that describes plans to either build a new hospital on the Farmington
campus or renovate and expand the existing hospital.

Under the plans being discussed by
UConn officials, the capacity of Dempsey Hospital would expand by
about 90 beds - to 314 licensed beds. Cost of the new construction
has been estimated at $300 million.

By contrast, Hartford Hospital has
about 860 licensed beds and St. Francis 617.

J. Kevin Kinsella, vice president of
Hartford Hospital, said that he wanted to see more details of UConn's
plans before commenting.

UConn officials said that the discussions
of any new construction or renovation are in the preliminary stages
and that there is no immediate plan to ask the state legislature
for funding or to apply for state approval of additional hospital
beds. Officials, however, have been quietly contacting potential
donors to gauge support for the project.

UConn officials said it became clear
during planning sessions that the hospital, which helps support
both the medical school and research efforts, will need to bring
in more money.

The 225-bed hospital has reached capacity
as demand for medical services is increasing in the Farmington Valley.
While revenue remains flat, hospital costs and those at the medical
school have been increasing, hospital officials said. Also, the
hospital needs to be upgraded and expanded to help attract better
medical school residents, officials said.

Dempsey Hospital has been a thorn in
the side of both St. Francis and Hartford Hospital since it opened
in 1975. Officials from the Hartford hospitals argue that the region
did not need additional hospital beds. Dempsey also serves more
affluent patients in the region, they say, while the two city hospitals
treat a greater number of uninsured patients and people on Medicaid,
the government program for the poor, which generally reimburses
hospitals at lower rates than private insurers.

As health care costs increase faster
than reimbursement rates, hospitals need to maintain a high volume
of patients to remain financially viable.

Six years ago when Dempsey hit tough
financial times, some suggested closing the hospital, but staff
layoffs and a $20 million state bailout helped save it.

UConn officials say it is clear that
with an aging population, many areas of the state do not have enough
hospital beds, especially in growing suburbs of Hartford.

Unlike many states, Connecticut did
not overbuild hospital beds in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and therefore
was spared the widespread hospital closings that afflicted much
of the country in the '80s and '90s, said Alan Sager, a professor
of health services and director of the Health Reform Program at
Boston University School of Public Health.

The state and the Hartford region have
"enjoyed remarkable stability in terms of hits to its hospitals,"
he said.

"But in this case,"
Sager said, "the health center's gain will be St. Francis Hospital's
and Hartford Hospital's loss."

Reprinted with permission of the Hartford Courant.
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